The New Frontier of Hope

It arrived when we thought all was lost. A single bird with a wingspan as wide as a man stretching out his arms, its green and purple feathers igniting the flames of hope back within us. It traveled with us for days, always overhead, always in front. It never landed, not even on our ship. When it had finally taken us to its name, we crowned the land Hope. There was nothing there. No sign of civilization, only the untamed wilds. It was better than death at sea.

• Founding Writings from Saun, 32 years before founding.

Hope, as it has been named by the people who first landed on the continent, seems impossible. While much of the outside world is known already, this new frontier has somehow evaded maps until now.

The land was discovered initially by captain Saun and her crew, after following an unknown species of bird – now considered to be a lesser god – to the shores of the continent. They had luck with them, because the land they discovered was a kind one.

The flora and fauna provided for the crew of the ship, and the ship kept them warm in the first few years. However, their attempts at escaping the continent were all in vain. Though the moon and the stars were meant to point the way, these bodies did strange things at sea, and the sailors always found themselves back to their new frontier, as if the land itself wanted to keep them there.

Though the ocean life is largely familiar to sailors from other places, the life further inland deviates greatly from what is seen in other places. Creatures that were evolved – some perhaps even created – for different purposes, untouched by the same strives that existed in the known empires.

Years after Saun and her crew landed on the continent, more ships started to appear. Their tales follow similar structures: Lost at sea, swept away by storms, unable to navigate due to a coming together of unfortunate circumstances. Cases that all should have ended as shipwrecks, never to be found again.

While it was clear that any attempt to leave the land was a fool’s errand, many tried all the same. At the same time, others started to give up and make a life for themselves on Hope. Basic infrastructure started to prop up, knowledge was shared, and governance was established.

However, much of the land still remains unexplored and untouched. While small farms have started to prop up, and fruit is plentiful, exploration further into the unknown land is not entirely without risk.

Yejo told me I must write something. I haven’t done this in decades, not since we stopped our attempts to leave.
There are more people here now. I watched a father and son be reunited not many days ago. The old man believed his child had died in a shipwreck, never to be found again.
I find solace in the knowledge I sleep under the same stars as my husband does. I hope to see him again in the Forlorn Halls, before we can meet again in our next life.
The gods here have been kind to us. Though now our strive is mostly cured, they seem to return to their old rhythms. We teach our children to return this kindness regardless. It is the sailors from Thilnim that warn us all may not be what it seems, but I have little worry.
We are proud of what we have built. I am proud of what I have done. It is my hope that we may all be reunited with our homelands again, perhaps in a future life.

• Founding Writings from Saun, final entry. 0 years after founding.

The Gods of Hope

Hope is unlike any known frontier. Because much of the world has been explored, many of its gods have adapted to sharing it with intelligent life. With the exception of gods that traveled with the sailors, the gods of Hope are all largely unfamiliar with the new lifeforms that have come to their home.

For this reason, many of the gods of Hope remain animalistic, mimicking the creatures that have long roamed these lands. A small number of them appear somewhat humanoid, with a small number of them having adopted these shapes quickly after the initial landing of Saun and her crew.

With the exception of imported gods, there is a distinct lack of any known gods that could wander among the explorers without being noticed.

Yeshto

Yeshto is a shape shifting god native to Hope. It is of roughly human intelligence and feeds off of a number of different groups of animals native to the continent to hope, shifting its form to the group that it is with at a time.

It is a nomadic, changing god that understands the lands to a deep extent. Because of this, it was not alarmed by humans arriving on the continent, instead welcoming this change as a new chapter of whatever Hope could be.

It has shown some interest in creating connections with humans, but has yet to find a balance in creating these connections in a way that satisfies the needs of the new inhabitants of Hope.

Tivgi

Tivgi is an ancient god, wandering swaths of the continent in roughly humanoid form. It is about twice as big as a normal human, covered entirely in fur. Its head is more human-like, with branches growing out of its skull in the shape of a crown

The god is a conservative protector of the lands. While it is familiar with Yeshto and does not seem to be hostile to it, it seems to be of lesser intelligence and has been shown to be hostile to the settling humans.

It feeds itself off the decaying souls of the flora and fauna that inhabits the continent, and can often be found hunting. It has adapted over time, and its hunting techniques are sustainable. Though with the settling of more unknown people on the continent, this sustainability is under pressure.

Pacha

Pacha is an ocean god living close to the shores of Hope. It swims with large schools of fish, appearing like a larger one of their kin. It feeds off of these groups of fish, and seems well sustained.

It is of roughly human level intelligence, but shows little interest in communicating with the new settlers of Hope. While people have tried to ask it for its help to navigate away from the island, back to their homelands, the god has declined for unknown reasons, and it negatively to the idea of bestowing gifts upon humans, especially since they have started fishing in the oceans.

Keu

Keu is an imported god from the southern empires. He represents himself as human and by some can be classified as a missionary god, looking for new followers to make connections to. He has been able to get himself some traction with the people of Hope, with the group he arrived with being closest to him.

As a missionary god, Keu has a strong association with healing and justice, but demands significant devotion from his followers. Originally the god and his followers kept distance from the other inhabitants of Hope, but the healing abilities showed their use over time.

Nuorsuda

Nuorsuda is an imported god from Thilnim. She is related to the other imported god from Thilnim, Chelieu, who she considers a sibling. Her gifts are those of manipulating connections people’s souls form. This has caused her to have some distance to the other gods on the continent, though they have shown to be more accepting of her after gaining a greater understanding of the applications of her works.

She and her sibling were shipped on a trading vessel to fight in the war between the Dama and the Empire. Originally kept as slaves, they have now broken free of their bonds. Nuorsuda still walks among humans for the most part, her visage human-like, though corrupted with red signs and perturbations on her skin, moving as though something lives under her skin, setting her apart from the other inhabitants of the island.

Chelieu

Chelieu is an imported god from Thilnim. They come from the same shipping vessel as Nuorsuda, and helped their sibling break free from their enslavement.

Chelieu’s abilities are only whispered about, with rumors of god-killing passing through the new settlements on the continent. Chelieu themselves is nowhere to be found, and some have theorized they let themselves wither away into nothing after freeing their sister.